RADIATION RISKS FOR PREGNANT WOMEN IN TOKYO AND NEARBY

The good news today is that radiation levels in Tokyo are slightly down from yesterday. But they are still many times what they should be. We can't really be sure just how high radiation is in Japan's food and water. But we do know that soil, irrigation canals, drinking water systems and growing crops, grass and food animals as much as 100km away from the affected Fukushima power plant are picking up radioactive iodine and other contaminants such as caesium 134 and 137. And, we also know that at least some radiation-contaminated food and water is even reaching Tokyo.

Japan's Ministry of Health has warned about risks for infants, but has not issued warnings for pregnant and nursing women. They should have. Pregnant women also take up more iodine-131 and this dangerous substance does cross the placenta to the fetus. Animal testing and studies of human atomic bombing victims and those exposed by incidents like Chernobyl have shown that such iodine may have disasterous effects on the fetus. It can not only cause childhood cancers, but also miscarriages, malformations (such as neurological and motor problems), growth retardation, reduction in IQ and even mental retardation.

Two main risk factors are: the radiation dose, including whether it is acute ( a single dose) or chronic (small doses over time) and the stage of pregnancy when exposed. Exposure during the first trimester is the most serious. Pregnant women need to take extra precautions to avoid exposure to radiation from any source. That includes food and water.

If there is a shortage of bottled water in the home, priority needs to be given to the pregnant woman. She should also be careful what fresh milk she drinks and what vegetables and fruits she eats. This might be a good time to resort to tinned and powdered milk and to tinned and frozen produce, on the assumption that these were produced before the recent tragic earthquake, tsunami and associated nuclear power incident.

TSF

MORE RADIATION CONTAMINATION IN FOOD IN JAPAN

So the latest news is that above-safety radiation levels have been found in 11 types of vegetables (as well as in milk, water) in Japan. Some of these veggies are growing 60km or more away from the Fukushima power plant. I am not surprised. As testing continues, it will find more - also in fruit, and eventually in meat, fish. As in the case of Chernobyl, rain is speeding up such food contamination.

The World Health Organization says that there is no evidence of radiation-contaminated food reaching other countries. Let's hope. Japan does export certain fruit, vegetables, dairy products and seafood to Hong Kong, China and the United States, as well as to other places.

China has now announced that it is monitoring food imports from Japan and South Korea has also said that it is expanding inspection of Japanese food. So far, Australia and the U.S. seem to feel there's no need for extra precautions. This may change.

In the meantime, remember that although the levels of radioiodine are above those considered safe, you still won't get much from just a few meals to hurt you.

TSF

HOW RADIATION COULD CONTAMINATE JAPAN'S FOOD: LESSONS FROM CHERNOBYL

With the ongoing disaster in Japan on my mind, I spent some time today trying to find out about how radioactivity could affect Japan's agriculture and how long contamination could last. I looked to UN and other research done on the Chernobyl incident for answers, although hopefully, the amounts of radioactive materials released will not be as bad in the case of Japan. At present we simply don't know. Here are some potential lessons from Chernobyl for Japan's food production and consumption that emerge from these studies.

In the early months after the Chernobyl disaster in the Ukraine, food contaminated in areas with high radiation exposure was mainly due to radioiodine. It turned up in high levels in plants and grass and plant eating animals and their products (such as milk, including goat and sheep milk) and in fish in certain waters, with special risks for children and pregnant women. But iodine-131 is short lived. After a couple of months, most of it decayed. After that the main hazard for food crops was the uptake by root vegetables of radioisotopes from the soil (where rain had deposited it), especially the dangerous caesium.

What I found interesting in the Chernobyl case was that apparently the levels of radiocaesium in food crops and in animal feed were not just affected by how much of it floated around in an area and landed on the soil, but by factors such as the type of soil and type of agriculture and livestock management practices that area people used.

Problems persisted longer in the extensive type of agriculture system (think "traditional" or "subsistence") where the soil is not ploughed much, there is a lot of organic content, and where animals graze in open "natural" pastures. The Chernobyl case suggests that forest foods and animals grazing in forest and mountainous areas can retain high levels of radiocaesium for decades.

In sum, as I understand the findings (and I hope I have got it right) in the short term (about two months) the main food hazard in agriculture areas after radioactivity is radioiodine in fresh fruits and vegetables (e.g. leafy greens) growing above ground, and in milk and dairy products from area cattle. For the next couple of years or so after that, caesium contamination of root vegetables would be the main risk to avoid, particularly on organic farms and where traditional farming practices are still used. Over the still longer term , caesium contamination in milk, meat and forest products (wild mushrooms, berries and game) could continue to be risks.

TSF